"William Black" wrote in message
...

"Stinky Pete" wrote in message
t...
No. Stolen. They bought a very small number from the Brits. They then
copied
the design illegally, i.e. stolen.

I thought they were given them rather than any purchase.


Incorrect they were sold a number of Nenes and Derwents, RR
and the board of trade were hoping for large orders but the
Soviets simply copied them

The Whittle design was done while he was a serving officer and so any
rights, patents, etc. rest with the Crown.


Incorrect, the initial patents were indeed lodged in 1930 when he was
an RAF officer but they were allowed to lapse in 1936 when
Air Ministry decided NOT to pay the fee of £5 required to renew them

Whittle got permission from the Air Ministry to found a company,
Power Jets which raised further patents under its control and funded
the development that made the engine workable. At this point the
Government stepped in, handed Whittles work and control of the
project to Rolls Royce and nationalised Power Jets leaving Whittle
with nothing.



The UK government of the day didn't make an issue of it, and the person
responsible, the then President of the Board of Trade, is now dead, so
we
can't ask him.


It was the height of the cold war by the time it was realised
what had happened and it was scarcely in the Governments
interest to let the country know the truth by making a fuss.

I should add that as he went on to become Prime Minister it obviously
didn't
do his political career any harm either...


Indeed.

Keith